20 May 2013
Time Crime by Piper, H. Beam
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The Paratime Police had a real headache this time! Tracing one man in a population of millions is easy--compared to finding one gang hiding out on one of billions of probability lines! (Summary by Gutenberg text)
20 May 2013
Hillside Thaw, The by Frost, Robert
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LibriVox volunteers bring you 10 recordings of The Hillside Thaw by Robert Frost. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for May 5th, 2013.
19 May 2013
Heilige Weten, Het by Couperus, Louis
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Het Heilige Weten is het vierde en laatste deel van de romancyclus "De boeken der kleine zielen".
Het is 10 jaar na het derde deel, "Zielenschemering". Addy is inmiddels dokter, getrouwd met Mathilde en heeft twee kleine kinderen. Zij wonen in de grote, sombere villa in Driebergen die hij ge-erfd heeft van zijn grootouders. Bij hem in (en in de buurt) wonen een groot aantal familieleden die we kennen uit de vorige delen, onder andere zijn ouders en de kinderen van Constance's overleden broer. Addy is de spil van de familie geworden. Hij weet altijd wat het beste is voor iedereen om hem heen, behalve voor zichzelf. (Samenvatting door Anna Simon)
Librivox opnamen van alle delen van De Boeken der Kleine Zielen:De kleine zielenHet late levenZielenschemeringHet heilige weten
19 May 2013
Timothy Crump's Ward by Alger, Horatio, Jr.
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A poor family is surprised with an infant on their doorstep on New Year’s Eve with a note and monetary support requesting them to raise the child. Eight years later, the child is stolen and the family is put into more trouble trying to find her. This is a story of how love and good morals are reward with a fairy tale “happily ever after” ending. (Summary by Sharon Kilmer)
19 May 2013
Youth and the Bright Medusa, and The Troll Garden by Cather, Willa
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Youth And The Bright Medusa comprises eight short stories published in 1920. Four of them (The Sculptor’s Funeral; A Death In The Desert; A Wagner Matinee; Paul’s Case) are re-worked from an earlier collection, The Troll Garden, published in 1905. This Librivox recording contains in addition the three stories (Flavia And Her Artists; The Garden Lodge; The Marriage Of Phaedra) from that earlier work omitted in the later book. In other words, all the stories in both books are recorded here. (Summary by David Wales)
19 May 2013
Futuria Fantasia, Spring 1940 by Bradbury, Ray
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A collection of short science fiction stories, edited by Ray Bradbury. Authors include Lyle Monroe, J. E. Kelleam, Hank Kuttner, J. H. Haggard, Ron Reynolds, Damon Knight, and Hannes V. Bok. (Summary by Lois Hill)
19 May 2013
Bobs, a Girl Detective by North, Grace May
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This is a great short chapter mystery book for girls. It is similar to Nancy Drew. Bobs is one of the four sisters whose parents die, leaving them with the responsibility of caring for themselves. They have to work together to be cheerful through the hard time and a long the way have many adventures! Let's start decoding the clues! (Summary by peppersnoodles93)
18 May 2013
Ten-foot Chain, The by Abdullah, Achmed, Brand, Max
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True love can survive anything. Or can it? Four popular authors were lunching with an editor and the question came up: "What mental and emotional reaction would a man and a woman undergo, linked together by a ten-foot chain, for three days and nights?" The 4 very popular authors each had strong but divergent opinions of what would happen to such a couple chained together for 3 days and nights. The result was these fascinating stories. Does true love scoff at the small difficulty of constant proximity? Does being 'too close' become an acid that eats away even the bonds of love? What do YOU think would happen if you were to write such a story? Read and find out what these popular and creative authors think. (Summary by Phil Chenevert)
18 May 2013
Because I Could Not Stop For Death by Dickinson, Emily
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LibriVox volunteers bring you 15 recordings of Because I Could Not Stop For Death by Emily Dickinson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for May 12, 2013.
Despite Dickinson's prolific writing, fewer than a dozen of her poems were published during her lifetime. After her younger sister Lavinia discovered the collection of nearly eighteen hundred poems, Dickinson's first volume was published four years after her death. Until the 1955 publication of Dickinson's Complete Poems by Thomas H. Johnson, her poems were considerably edited and altered from their manuscript versions. Since 1890 Dickinson has remained continuously in print. (Summary by Wikipedia )
18 May 2013
Little Princess, A (dramatic reading) by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
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Sara Crewe is a very intelligent, polite, and creative young girl. Born to a wealthy soldier in India, Sara was brought all the way to London in Victorian-era England for a formal education. At the upscale boarding school, Sara is forced to tolerate the haughty, disdainful headmistress, Miss Minchin. Unfortunately, things only get worse for Sara when her father's bankruptcy and death leave her impoverished and at the mercy of the jealous Miss Minchin. Sara undergoes numerous trials as she humbly allows herself to be subjected to servitude, but with the help of several dear friends (both seen and unseen), she remains as proud and unwavering and imaginative as ever, proving to all that she is, as the title says, "a little princess." (Summary by Wikipedia)
17 May 2013
Maker of Rainbows, The by Le Gallienne, Richard
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A collection of Fairy Tales from Richard Le Gallienne.
17 May 2013
Compilation de poèmes - 004 by Various
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Cette compilation comprend une série de poèmes lus, en langue française, pour LibriVox. (Ezwa)
16 May 2013
Seven H.P. Lovecraft Stories by Lovecraft, H. P.
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Howard Phillips Lovecraft, better known as H.P. Lovecraft, was an American author of horror, fantasy, poetry and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction and many feel he is the acknowledged master of creepy, weird and unsettling stories. These are seven stories by Lovecraft that literally span his career; some being written when he was barely a teenager and one (The Shunned House) only published after he had died. Most were published in Weird Tales before 1922. Each story is unique and strange in it's own way but all of them come from the same mind that gave us the Cult of Cthulhu and other wonderful tales that generations now have enjoyed for their strangeness that resonates with our own inner fears. Some of these stories explore the depths of the human mind others the depths of human degradation and creepiness. I won't ruin the suspense by telling you which is which. Enjoy. (Summary by phil chenevert)
16 May 2013
Dodo Wonders by Benson, E. F.
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"Dodo Wonders" is the third and last of the "Dodo" novels by E.F. Benson, author of the "Mapp and Lucia" series as well as numerous stand-alone novels and short stories. Dodo was rumored to be based on Lady Margot Asquith; when questioned about it, Lady Asquith reportedly replied that Benson had taken nothing from her for the character of Dodo "except her drawing-room."
"Dodo Wonders" takes Benson's characters, the glittering socialite Lady Dodo Chesterford, her husband, and friends into World War I-era England. The story follows Dodo and her peers through the build-up, outbreak, and catastrophic years of the war. Benson is clever as always in putting his characters in situations where they must either adapt or break and never loses his sense of humor while doing it. "Dodo Wonders" manages to be as cheerful and bubbly as the other novels in the series while retaining a basic sense of sobriety about its subject matter.
Dodo is a charming, vivid heroine with whom it becomes almost a pleasure to move through wartime.
16 May 2013
Ghost Pirates, The by Hodgson, William Hope
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The Ghost Pirates is a powerful account of a doomed and haunted ship on its last voyage, and of the terrible sea-devils (of quasi-human aspect, and perhaps the spirits of bygone buccaneers) that besiege it and finally drag it down to an unknown fate. With its command of maritime knowledge, and its clever selection of hints and incidents suggestive of latent horrors in nature, this book at times reaches enviable peaks of power. (Summary by Wikipedia)
15 May 2013
Short Nonfiction Collection Vol. 029 by Various
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Twenty short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Topics include architecture, education, philosophy, religion, health, humor, history, and literature. (Summary by Sue Anderson)
15 May 2013
Two Noble Kinsmen, The by Shakespeare, William, Fletcher, John
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The Two Noble Kinsmen is a Jacobean tragicomedy co-written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, first published in 1634. Set in ancient Greece during a war between Athens and Thebes, the narrative follows the title characters, Palamon and Arcite, noble youths whose friendship is destroyed by their mutual love for the beautiful Emilia. The subplot deals with the love and eventual madness of the Jailer's Daughter, who falls hopelessly in love with Palamon. The play is based on "The Knight's Tale" by Chaucer, but also has echoes of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as two of the major characters are Theseus and Hippolyta, who also appear in the earlier play. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)
15 May 2013
Letters on an Elk Hunt by Stewart, Elinore Pruitt
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This is a sequel to Letters of a Woman Homesteader in which Elinore Rupert (Pruitt) Stewart describes her arrival and early years on a Burntfork Wyoming ranch in 1909-1913. The letters are written to her elderly friend, Mrs. Coney, in Denver. In the present collection of letters, Elinore describes a lively excursion on horseback and wagon into the Wyoming wilderness during July-October 1914. Her traveling companions are her husband “Mr. Stewart,” their three oldest children, and kind-hearted, opinionated neighbor Mrs. O’Shaughnessy. Mr. Haynes (organizer of the hunt) and his friend, Mr. Struble (the cheerful big man of the party) lead the group, and are also joined by physician Dr. Teschall, “a moving-picture man” Mr. Harkrudder, Professor Glenholdt seeking “the tip-end bone of the tail of a brontosaurus” and his students (“two geological fellows” who “talk of nothing but strata and formation”). Also joining the group is Mr. Murry with his tiresome accordion.
Although some hunting is accomplished on the trip, the overarching focus of Elinore’s letters is on descriptions of awe-inspiring Wyoming scenery and the interesting people she encounters. With her familiar wit and wisdom, Elinore also writes of tragedies and romances she observes during her trip -- that is, whenever Elinore’s effort to observe is not thwarted by “the good mon” Mr. Stewart. In one letter Elinore complains to Mrs. Coney that “Mr. Stewart is the queerest man: instead of letting me enjoy the tableau [the reunion of two long-lost lovers], he solemnly drove on, saying he would not want any one gawking at him if he were the happy man. Anyway, he couldn’t urge Chub [the horse] fast enough to prevent my seeing and hearing what I’ve told you.”
By the time the adventurers are homeward bound with their supply of elk meat, Elinore is homesick for her youngest child, Junior, at home with his grandmother; Mrs. O’Shaughnessy has taken in two young orphans; and quiet, young Mr. Haynes complains good-naturedly about having to travel along with a rolling nursery.
Elinore’s letters capture an interesting transition point in history. People traveled by horse and wagon, there were cowboys and cattle stampedes, and medical care was rustic. At the same time, automobiles and modern medicine, archeology and motion picture making were entering the scene and war was commencing in Europe. (Note to more sensitive readers: Elk hunting is described in Chapters 7 and 8.) (Summary by Lynne Carroll)
15 May 2013
What Men Live By by Tolstoy, Leo
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This is a collection of 4 stories by Leo Tolstoy, all dealing with the question asked in the title of the first story: What Does Man Live By. What is the purpose of life? How are we expected to live with others? What is all of this about anyway? And the answer to that question by the way is answered in a style that is uniquely and perfectly Tolstoy's. But these are not essays, but well written stories that tell about real people as they live real lives. The first story is broken into two parts and but is is read by the same person. Also the last story, How Much Land Does A Man Need has been broken into two sections for easier reading and it is also read by the same person for continuity and ease of understanding. The two stories in the middle, are much shorter but just as fascinating. Tolstoy was a deeply spiritual man and he always brought out the spiritual side of all the myriad questions he dealt with. (Summary by phil chenevert)
14 May 2013
Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) by Shikibu, Murasaki
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The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century, around the peak of the Heian Period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first romance novel, or the first novel to still be considered a classic... The Genji was written for the women of the aristocracy (the yokibito) and has many elements found in a modern novel: a central character and a very large number of major and minor characters, well-developed characterization of all the major players, a sequence of events happening over a period of time covering the central character's lifetime and beyond. The work does not make use of a plot; instead, much as in real life, events just happen and characters evolve simply by growing older. One remarkable feature of the Genji, and of Murasaki's skill, is its internal consistency, despite a dramatis personae of some four hundred characters. For instance, all characters age in step and all the family and feudal relationships are consistent among all chapters. NOTE: this is a highly condensed version of the text, running to just under 200 pages, whereas the original is nearly 1000 pages long! (Summary by Wikipedia)
14 May 2013
Popular History of the Art of Music, A by Mathews, W. S. B.
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Preface by W.S.B. Mathews: I have here endeavored to provide a readable account of the entire history of the art of music, within the compass of a single small volume, and to treat the luxuriant and many-sided later development with the particularity proportionate to its importance, and the greater interest appertaining to it from its proximity to the times of the reader.
The range of the work can be most easily estimated from the Table of Contents (pages 5-10). It will be seen that I have attempted to cover the same extent of history, in treating of which the standard musical histories of Naumann, Ambros, Fétis and others have employed from three times to ten times as much space. In the nature of the case there will be differences of opinion among competent judges concerning my success in this difficult undertaking. Upon this point I can only plead absolute sincerity of purpose, and a certain familiarity with the ground to be covered, due to having treated it in my lectures in the Chicago Musical College for five years, to the extent of about thirty-five lectures yearly. I have made free use of all the standard histories—those of Fétis, Ambros, Naumann, Brendel, Gevaert, Hawkins, Burney, the writings of Dr. Hugo Riemann, Dr. Ritter, Prof. Fillmore, and the dictionaries of Grove and Mendel, as well as many monographs in all the leading modern languages.
14 May 2013
Anne's House of Dreams (dramatic reading) by Montgomery, Lucy Maud
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In the next installment of the Anne series, newlyweds Anne and Gilbert move to the harbor town of Four Winds. There they meet new friends and experience joy as well as heartbreak. (Summary by wildemoose)
14 May 2013
Mutiny of the Bounty and Other Narratives, The by Bligh, William
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In Bligh's own words, we hear about the lead-up to the famous mutiny and what happened afterwards with the mutineers and the castaways. This work contains two additional narratives by Bligh: Life of a Sailor Boy and The Sunken Treasure. (Summary by John Greenman)
14 May 2013
Rover (Part One), The by Behn, Aphra
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The Rover, or The Banish'd Cavaliers, is a play in two parts written by the English author Aphra Behn. The first part features multiple plot lines, dealing with the amorous adventures of a group of Englishmen in Naples at Carnival time. The "rover" of the play's title is Willmore, a rakish naval captain, who falls in love with a young woman named Hellena, who has set out to experience love before her brother sends her to a convent. Complications arise when Angellica Bianca, a famous courtesan, falls in love with Willmore and swears revenge on him for his betrayal. Meanwhile, Hellena's sister Florinda attempts to marry her true love, Colonel Belvile, rather than the man her brother has selected. The third major plot of the play deals with the provincial Blunt, who becomes convinced that a girl has fallen in love with him but is humiliated when she turns out to be a prostitute and a thief. (Summary by Wikipedia)
14 May 2013
Almayer's Folly by Conrad, Joseph
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A European businessman and his Malayan wife have a daughter, Nina. A Malayan prince comes to do trade with the businessman and falls in love with the daughter. Conflict arises when other influences cause distrust in the business partnership and the daughter runs off to be with the prince. (Summary by Kristel Tretter)
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